The Aftermath
by nine miles to go
Summary: Post Superman Returns. Clark had to reveal himself to Lois...it was the only way. Now he has to sort out the mess he's made if he wants it to work.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything Superman related.

Post-Superman returns. Lois/Clark revelation fic (I know, it's cliche, but I thought I'd take a shot at it). NOW READ.

* * *

Clark rubbed his eyes. With all the Superman chaos filtering through the newsroom, everyone was working overtime late into last night. He smirked to himself. Wake up from a coma, work a couple of eighteen hour shifts. All in a week's work.

He stared at the blank computer screen. At least nothing had been awkward at his return, and he was grateful for that. Yes, it was chaos here, but there was enough madness to cover up his absence after the little "incident" with Lex Luthor. He gazed into Lois' office for a moment, somewhat bitterly.

The child was his. Jason—all this time, for five years, he'd had a son. Lois thought that she knew who the father was.

But she really didn't, now, did she?

Clark would never be able to adequately describe his awakening from the coma. His head felt oddly warm, and the boy's face kept popping into his consciousness. Without really thinking, he'd gotten up and stared out at the night sky. A few seconds later, he was out flying, Superman again—headed towards Lois' house.

But not to see Lois. His heart had ached through the whole short flight, eager to see that little face in a new light, and fully realize he'd created something more precious than anything in the world. He wasn't alone now. It didn't matter to him that Jason thought Richard was his father; at least it hadn't at the moment.

Would Lois tell her son about his true origins? He supposed it would be difficult not to. People would ask questions about the powers eventually, Clark knew. Jason would have to be careful. He would need Clark around—someone to understand what he was going through. Someone that Clark never had, but always needed. Jason would be ostracized from his classmates, live his whole life being different. He needed to know Superman was his father.

But more importantly, he needed to know _Clark _was his father. And how believable would that be? He figured that having Superman and Clark in a package deal would upset Lois quite a bit.

_Where is Superman now? _

Clark wrote out the headline, too tired to smirk. It was the fifth article he'd worked on today. He'd originally been hired because he was the "fastest typist" Perry had ever seen, and it still rang true. Earlier in the morning Clark had offered to take on news that wasn't Superman-related since everyone was so eager to make their debut in the "World of Journalism," but he hadn't realized that that would mean writing _every _article that wasn't Superman-related. And now he was stuck with one anyway.

_Well_, he thought to himself, _Superman is sitting in a cramped cubicle with a blank computer screen, trying to come up with crap about where Superman is._

To his defense, he was a little distracted. It wasn't everyday that you found out you had a son—that is, right after saving the world from a kryptonite-infested landmass that threatened to kill millions of people.

He pushed his chair away from the desk, realizing it was hopeless. He was too preoccupied. That little boy was his son. That little boy had gifts…that little boy had saved his life. In more ways than one. Now he truly had something left. If he couldn't have Lois or anything that felt like a normal life, he had Jason, if only in his heart.

"Hi, Mr. Clark," a little voice piped from behind him.

Clark swung the chair around, face to face with his own eyes. He wondered how he didn't realize it before. It was right in front of him, all of the evidence! The boy grinned at him, a camera strung around his neck. "Look what Jimmy let me borrow," he said proudly.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. You want me to take your picture?" Clark offered.

Jason shook his head. "I'm gonna take yours. I'm taking everybody's!" he announced.

A coworker in the cubicle next to Clark made a coughing noise, obviously annoyed by the five-year-old's antics. Clark just grinned. "Okay, then," he said, looking at the camera.

Jason snapped the picture. "Thanks, Mr. Clark. Hey—where were you?" he asked. "Mommy and Daddy and I came to work and you weren't here."

"Uh…" Clark didn't want to lie. In fact, he was pretty against it, but there was really nothing else he could do. "I went to visit my mother."

"Oh." Jason obviously hadn't expected that answer. "I thought…"

"What?" Clark laughed at the confusion evident on the boy's face.

Jason shook his head, smiling again faster than a light bulb flickering on. "Never mind." He yawned. "Why's everything so busy?"

"Because of Superman," said Clark. When was it _not _busy because of Superman? "Isn't it past your bedtime, little guy?" he asked.

Jason shrugged. "I guess so. I like staying up, though. Are you done working?" he asked eagerly. "Mommy says I can't bother people if they're working."

"Oh, don't worry, you're not bothering me at all. I like it when you come over." He quickly minimized the word document he'd been working on. Jason sat down in a spinning chair next to Clark's cubicle and spun around in it.

"I had a weird dream last night that Superman was in my bedroom," Jason told him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Really? That must have been some dream," Clark acknowledged, hoping he didn't look as stricken as he felt. "What happened in it?"

"Can't remember. Just that he was there, and then he flew out the window." He frowned a bit. "Some dream."

"Jason!" Lois called out from her office. "Come on, honey, quit bugging Clark. It's almost time to come home."

"But Mommy, he doesn't care—"

"Yeah, really, I don't mind," Clark agreed. "We're just having fun over here. Did you know that Jason's becoming quite the camera man?"

Lois rolled her eyes affectionately. "Yeah, I heard. Remind me to get back at Jimmy."

Clark laughed. Lois stopped mid-stride for a moment, halfway into the boardroom, and looked over at him. "Oh," she muttered. "Well, Jason, make sure Clark isn't busy, alright? Thanks for being so patient."

Jason was already fiddling with a pen from Clark's desk, popping open the cap and drawing on the notepad that Clark never used. Clark took the opportunity to write a few lines down in the article, mostly of what Superman had been doing since the coma. Not that he needed to check his sources.

"Wow, you type fast, Mr. Clark!" Jason admired, glancing at the screen.

"Oh, thanks," Clark managed, surprised that he finished so soon. "What's that?" he asked, motioning to the drawing.

Jason beamed, holding up the picture with pride. "It's Superman," he informed Clark, pointing to the red-and-blue Sharpie-pen figure.

"That looks wonderful," Clark encouraged him. "You're a great artist, Jason."

Jason blushed and sat back down in the seat, mumbling a thanks. "I'm gonna draw the city in the background," he said, burying himself back into the drawing.

Clark quickly finished in the article and sent it to Perry through email. He was done for the day now, but he didn't intend to move for awhile. He watched the boy, transfixed by his every movement. _One day you'll be everything to the world_, Clark thought to himself. _One day you'll be their only hope._

"Hey, Clark, I'm sorry," Lois apologized, walking up to the two of them. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble. I was stuck in a meeting…"

"Oh, no, he's great," Clark cut her off. "Show her what you drew, Jason."

Jason swiveled the chair around and held up the drawing again. "It's Superman!"

"I see, honey! It's great. It looks a lot like him, too." She grabbed Jason's hand. "Let's go, Jason, it's time to go home."

"Wait a sec," he said, putting some tape on the drawing and posting it on the wall of Clark's cubicle. He grinned. "You can keep it, Mr. Clark."

Clark opened his mouth to thank the boy, but Perry cut them off. "Kent, what the hell are you still doing here? Didn't you turn in your article twenty minutes ago? Get out before I give you another one!" He shook his head, muttering to himself about something unrelated as he walked back into the boardroom.

"Yeah, Kent, get home," Lois teased, giving him a look. "You don't have to stay for Jason."

"I…" He was about to deny that that was the reason, but he swallowed and smiled. "I love talking with him, Lois. Let him come over more often, I'm not usually that busy."

"See, Mom? I told you so!"

Lois attempted dragging her son out as he yawned. "Well…if you really…" She sighed at her son. "You're about to drop on the floor if you don't get to bed soon. C'mon, it's ten thirty."

"Really? Do you think I'll make it till midnight?"

"Not if I have any say in it," Lois groaned, picking him up. "Thanks again," she said to Clark. "Good night."

Clark waved. "Night."

Once they were gone, Clark allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment, head in his hands. He focused on the voices in the city. Everything in Metropolis seemed to be running smoothly. He had a feeling that even the criminals didn't feel like testing the post-comatose Superman, in fear that they'd look even more cruel than they were.

"Tired?" Jimmy asked, rubbing his own eyes.

Clark looked up. "Nah. Just thinking." He gathered up his briefcase and its contents carefully. "You headed out for the night, too?"

Jimmy nodded. "The quicker the better."

"I heard about all the pictures you got of the quake. Congratulations," he said, patting Jimmy on the back. "That must be great."

"Yeah, Perry's finally off my case. I still can't believe how lucky I was to be standing there when it happened!" Jimmy exclaimed, obviously unaware of how close he was to certain death. Well, it wouldn't have been the first time Superman had saved Jimmy over the years. Starting with the dam eruption.

"Yeah, that is pretty lucky," Clark agreed, trying not to laugh. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Bright and early!" Jimmy chirped, headed back to his cubicle to get his things.

Clark headed down the elevator and towards the exit of the grand building, seeing Lois, Richard and Jason not too far ahead. They must have stopped to talk before heading out. _Wouldn't hurt to follow them just for a little while_, he thought to himself. It wasn't like he had anything else to do in this time of rare quiet.

Richard had Jason in his arms by now. Clark felt a pang of jealousy before shaking it off. Richard had raised the kid. He was more Jason's father than Clark would ever be—no, than _Superman _would ever be—and Clark just had to accept that.

Richard handed off a now-sleeping Jason to Lois and walked into a Chinese take-out place. Clark stopped by a bookstore and pretended to look in at the display, watching the pair from the corner of his eye and trying not to let it affect him. He wished he could be Richard. He wished that they were his family, Lois and Jason—and they _were_, but not conveniently. Besides, as much as Lois was enamored with Superman's charm, she'd never accept Clark. And that was enough to stop him from admitting the truth.

Lois walked up the street towards Clark, looking into shop windows. Clark was about to book it out of the area, but they didn't get any closer. A hand reached out from an alleyway and pulled the two of them off the sidewalk in an instant, clamping the other hand over Lois' mouth.

It took less than a second. No one else on the block even noticed the swift movement that could end their lives, but Clark had already raced into the alley before he had time to even think about it.

Lois was still attempting muffled screams, eventually biting the hand that held her. A disheveled man in his thirties dragged her in, paying Clark no mind, Jason still held in her arms. She punched at him with her free hand to no avail.

Clark's anger flared. "Let them go!" he yelled, immediately catching the man's attention.

The man held a gun up towards Clark's heart. Lois' eyes widened; Jason began to stir awake. In the heat of the moment, Clark didn't even realize that he wasn't disguised as Superman. Adrenaline rushed through him. Nobody messed with his family, however twisted the situation may be.

"You think a wimp's gonna stop me? What is this, your lame excuse for a husband?" the man cackled. He fired a shot. "Not anymore."

Lois shrieked in terror, shielding Jason's eyes with her hand.

Clark raised up his hand and caught the bullet, then threw it at the alley wall in rage. "I said, _let them go_."

The man panicked and sent another few shots in his direction. Jason screamed, now fully awake and aware of what was happening. The bullets thumped harmlessly off of Clark, hitting the pavement with a clang. Clark walked up to the now petrified man, wrenched the gun out of his grasp and bent it like licorice before throwing it into a garbage can.

"Get out of my sight," Clark hissed so only the man could hear.

The man bolted like lightning, leaving an astonished Lois and Jason in his wake.

"Clark…how…" Lois' voice cracked.

"Are you both okay?" Clark asked quietly, unable to look over at her.

He heard her choke on her words. "…Yeah," she managed.

"I told you, Mommy," Jason whispered.

"Clark, you're…you're…"

He closed his eyes, trying to quench the rush of emotions bursting inside of him. Yes, he'd saved them. They were safe. Nobody was going to hurt them. But now he was revealed, and his façade was over. No more alternate ego.

Somebody screamed in the distance. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "but I have to go."

He ran out of the alleyway. "Wait!" Lois cried, a moment too late. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Wait…"

Clark had heard her, of course, and as much as he longed to turn back around and try to explain himself, there just wasn't any time. Someone needed him. Someone always would need him. She didn't deserve a guy like that, anyway.

He ducked into another alley and emerged a second later as Superman. He didn't know that Lois had grabbed her son and run out just in time to watch, but it wouldn't have mattered. It was only confirmation of something she would already know.

The night kept him pretty busy. The worldwide hysteria of the infamous coma was old news by now; he had about as much on his plate as he had five years ago, before he'd taken off for Krypton. He grimaced. All those years to find out it had exploded. Years that he could have been defending Earth and even settling down with a child. Tears burned in the back of his eyes as he made the flight back to his apartment, but he bit them back as easily as those bullets had deflected off of him.

He flew inconspicuously into the open window of the cramped apartment and shut it closed.

"Hello, Clark."

"Huh?" His head snapped up to the stranger's voice and he grinned. "Mom," he exclaimed, grinning widely despite his mood. "It's so great to see you!"

He went up and hugged her, glad to have someone familiar. Someone he knew would never judge him as Superman…someone who actually _knew _him for who he was. It was just what he needed just then.

"How'd you get in?" he asked once they'd parted.

She smiled wryly. "You left it unlocked, young man. I don't want you to get any trouble on these streets. Someone might sneak up on you."

Clark chuckled. "Wouldn't want that happening, now, would we?"

"No, we wouldn't." She paused, growing serious. "I…heard about your little stint," she said, swallowing hard. "You really scared me there. I thought…"

Clark hugged her again in reassurance. "It's…all in the past. It won't happen again," he promised. "Sorry about that," he added sheepishly.

"I'm just glad you're alright. They wouldn't let me in, you know. Just some nutter claiming to be Superman's mother—they told me to get in line with the rest of them," she joked. Then she cocked her head and her son. "What's wrong, Clark? Don't lie to me. I know you better than anyone."

He sighed—he'd been caught. "I…well…"

Martha waited for him to speak. Clark sat down on the small bed that he hardly ever had a chance to use and gathered his voice back. "Well, you know Lois Lane, right?"

"Do I know Lois Lane?" Martha repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "Miss Why-The-World-Doesn't-Need-Superman? It's hard not to know her."

"She had a kid while I was gone all those five years. With Richard, the nephew of my boss."

"Oh," Martha acknowledged, not fully understanding the problem. "And you had a thing with that Lois, right? So you're sad you missed your chance."

"Yeah, about a week ago that was my only problem." Clark looked at his feet, imagining that little face in his head, so sweet and innocent despite all the terrors in the world. Someday those terrors would be his reality. And it was Clark's fault.

"That kid…Jason…I found out that—that he's _my _son, not Richard's."

Martha's eyes widened. "You have a son?"

"Yes," Clark said miserably, "and he'll never know, I guess."

"But doesn't he…?"

"Not yet. At least, his powers aren't controlled at all and he's only used them two times that I've heard."

"And Richard…?"

"Still thinks he's the father. Lois knows, though. Jason…has no idea."

"Oh, Clark," Martha sympathized, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It'll get better. You can be around for him. He'll need somebody to understand, and you'll be there to help. You'll see. It can't be all bad, can it?"

Clark shook his head. "There's more. It gets worse." He closed his eyes, trying to recall the events that occurred only hours ago. "Lois and Jason…were cornered in an alley at gunpoint. I didn't know what to do. There was no time, and I…I couldn't lose them. They're too important to me." He opened his eyes again, realizing that the carpet was blurred from tears threatening to fall. "And now they know."

Martha sat there with him for a few minutes, letting him mull it over, offering her silent support. "What are you going to do?" she finally asked.

Clark shrugged. The sun was rising now, he realized, his stomach filling with dread at the day ahead of him. "I'll go into work and pretend like nothing happened. If she asks about it, I'll feign confusion," he decided, standing up.

His mother shook her head, tsk-tsking. "It won't work, you know," she warned him.

He ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know. But…well, Lois doesn't particularly like Clark."

"You _are_ Clark," she reminded him.

"And Superman," he whispered. "That's all I was to her. She loves him, not the nerd from the paper that worked with her for years. Didn't even mention me to her son or Richard. Jimmy remembered me, and that was about it. She thinks I'm a gnat that occasionally watches Jason when he's bored. But that's it."

"Change her mind," Martha suggested optimistically.

"I've been trying to for years. Superman always got in the way, and I didn't think it was so bad. Now Superman _and _Richard are in the way." He looked out at the sunrise. "I'd better go," he said resignedly, grabbing his briefcase.

"Not dressed like that, you aren't."

Clark looked down at the giant "S" on his chest. "Right," he blushed, embarrassed. "Thanks." He quickly threw some work clothes over his suit, splashed cold water on his face and brushed his teeth.

"How are you going to get home? I'm…probably not going to be at the apartment for a few weeks or so, by the looks of things."

She frowned. "You have to sleep sometimes, Clark."

"What do you think I'm getting paid to do?" he kidded.

She swatted at him affectionately. "Ben's picking me up in an hour or so. I'll be fine. Have a great day, Clark…and please don't push yourself. You don't know if…"

"I feel great," Clark said. _Well, physically, _he bit back the words. "Thanks for coming by. I love you, Mom."

"Love you, too. Visit when you get the time, okay?" she reminded him. "Be careful out there. Let me know you're alive once in a while. And get me a picture of my grandson."

Clark grinned on his way out the door. "I will."

The building to his work was mere minutes away walking. He was there in no time, too weighed down with the storm brewing in his head to stop for coffee or breakfast. More than that, he was tired. He hadn't slept in about three days, between the long shifts on both of his jobs. Normally he could handle that no sweat, but that coma thing was no small feat, even if he'd only admit it to himself.

He walked into an elevator absent-mindedly. It wasn't until the doors were closed until he realized he was trapped.

Standing in the corner of the elevator, a wide-eyed stare met his own. Lois. Her hair was a mess and she looked half-crazed under the lighting of the cramped space.

"Clark," she said softly.

"Good morning," he forced himself to chirp, going with his first solution.

"Don't you 'good morning' me," she said venomously. "You know what? I can't believe you _lied _to me—"

The doors opened. She smoothed her hair down at the sight of the new people walking in and cleared her throat, trying to act natural. "We need to talk," she said firmly.

Clark nodded, unable to bear looking her in the eye. "Okay."

He dejectedly hit the top floor button, knowing full well where they'd be meeting. The doors opened to their floor and neither of them filed out with the rest; soon, Clark and Lois were the only two remaining in the elevator, a frosty silence thick in the air between them.

Once they were out on the roof, Clark had a full view of the furious tears pouring out of Lois' eyes. She lifted up her arm in a sharp movement and Clark flinched in spite of himself, anticipating a smack. Instead, she threw his thick lenses onto the ground and smashed them.

"That'll teach you," she choked.

He felt exposed without them on, completely naked. "Lois…tell me. What was I supposed to do?"

"I was your friend! I was your _partner_! I can't believe you _lied _to me all these years!" she shrieked.

Clark quickly scanned the area with his ears to make sure no one was listening in. "Your friend? Your partner?" he repeated calmly. "Well, gee, Lois. Some great person I was. Why is it that Jason never heard of me? That you never mentioned me to anyone? I'm sure you missed me a whole lot."

"I was distracted," she defended herself.

Clark couldn't help but snort. "Your partner mysteriously disappears for five years and pops back up out of nowhere, and you're _distracted_? C'mon, Lois. Not even you. I mean, has it ever even occurred to you that every time 'Superman' saves you, Clark Kent is nowhere in sight?"

"How was I supposed to know?" she shrieked. "You expected me to just guess that it was you? Is that what you thought?"

He shook his head. "No. I just…I wanted you to like Clark. Not Superman."

"I loved…Superman," she choked. "Loved him!"

"But this changes everything, doesn't it?" he whispered.

A great gust of wind howled past them in the morning air, making a small dent in the tension.

"You don't give a damn about Clark Kent," he pointed out to her, his voice devoid of emotion. "He was nothing to you. Dirt. Expendable. No one cared when Clark Kent just happened to be AWOL when Superman was in a coma. No one made the connection."

"My son did," Lois corrected him.

"_Our _son."

She stomped her heel in anger. "Don't do that to me, Clark. Jason—you can't—you're not—"

"Not his father. Yes, I know. Richard is." He paused. "Or is Superman? Well, it seems like there just isn't enough room for me in this equation." He sat down on the edges of what used to surround the Daily Planet mobile, suddenly exhausted.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you. I knew it would never work."

"How were you expecting to make it work without telling me?" she demanded. "I needed to know!"

"So now you can justify shutting me out of Jason's life, right?"

"I won't shut you out," she countered. "I…" She sat down next to him. "Are you alright?"

Clark glanced over at what remained of his glasses. "Not really," he admitted.

"I will tell you one thing, Clark…I was wrong." She swallowed hard, obviously admitting this with some difficulty. "The world does need you. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. And…I'm sorry for treating you like crap for all of these years. And I'm sorry…for…well, this."

And then she was kissing him. Hard. Clark's eyes widened in shock, almost too surprised to return the gesture. They remained locked in each other's embrace several minutes before finally coming up for air, smiling absurdly.

"What…what about Richard?"

Lois shook her head. "He knows," she said. "I mean, about Superman being Jason's father. He knows that I love you, and he's accepted it. Jason doesn't know yet. I was hoping…you'd tell him. I mean, now that he knows you're Superman and everything." She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe how many times I haven't figured it out."

"I'm just tricky like that," Clark said. He cleared his throat. "Are you sure…that you want to—"

"I'm sure," she cut him off. "I love you, even if you lied to me. It's not going to change. And Jason needs you."

"He's not afraid of me after last night?"

Lois laughed. "Are you kidding? He woke up at five in the morning asking if it was time for work yet, he wants to see you so bad. He thought you were Superman even _before _Lex Luthor. 'Itoldyouso' is his new personal mantra."

"Can we…go and see him?"

"Of course."

They stood up, Lois grabbing his hand. Clark loved the way her hand matched his, as if they were made for each other. They headed back into the building, leaving the bustle of the city behind.

It would be difficult. It always had been, always would be. But at least now Clark knew he wasn't alone.

* * *

Thou shalt revieweth or...ish. Feh. Fine, don't review. I'll just crawl into my room and SOB. Lol. :D


End file.
